There’s nothing right or honourable about this member.

“Bad Johnson” was retitled “Schlong Story” for the UK (like that’s an improvement), but not even its zany premise and a new title is enough to save this miscast, misogynist misfire.

Rich Johnson (Cam Gigandet), a serial womaniser just can’t help ruining one relationship after another. One day he glibly wishes his dick would stop getting him into trouble, and he wakes up to find out his wish has been ironically granted: his penis has mysteriously left his body and taken human form (Nick Thune).

The writer may have been planning a comedy when he wrote this but the cast and director (Huck Botko) seem completely unaware of it. Instead of aiming for a crass, gross-out lowbrow laugh-fest they seem to think they’re making a quirky and thoughtfully satirical indie dramedy. Regrettably, they have nothing insightful or interesting to say about men, masculinity or fidelity beyond the one-note dick joke.

This is exactly the kind of high concept that can be brilliantly, outrageously funny in the right hands. The likes of Trey Parker and Matt Stone would have knocked this out of the park. Hell, even Dane Cook would have knocked this up a notch (although I say that as someone with a bit of a soft spot for “Good Luck Chuck” – possibly my guiltiest cinematic pleasure) but it needed more energy and edge than it has to make it, well, rise to the occasion.

For a movie with such a whacky premise, nobody seems to be having fun with “Bad Johnson”, not even the guy who plays the personification of an actual dick. It’s a pretty easy joke to describe the end result as flaccid, but that’s exactly what it is. For an idea which clearly started with the thought ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if…’, it turns out the answer is ‘no’.

bad johnson review
Score 3/10


Hi there! If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up to get new posts sent straight to your inbox?

Sign up to receive a weekly digest of The Craggus' latest posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

logo

Related posts

Queer (2024) Review

Queer (2024) Review

Guadagnino Channels Burroughs' Hazy Melancholy in Queer. Queer, Luca Guadagnino's adaptation of William S Burroughs' semi-autobiographical novella, offers a haunting exploration of love, loneliness, and obsession, filtered through the hazy, sun-drenched lens of 1950s Mexico City. In his...

The Apprentice (2024) Review

The Apprentice (2024) Review

Donald John Trump, a man so imbecilic and profane in his every aspect that if he did not actually exist in real life could never be remotely believable as a fictional character, would - you would think - make a mouthwatering prospect for a biopic were it not for his current horrifyingly inescapable malignancy at the heart of public consciousness.

Shadow Of The Vampire (2000) Review

Shadow Of The Vampire (2000) Review

Truth is stranger than fiction in Shadow Of The Vampire A blackly comic metafictional account of the making of “Nosferatu”, positing the idea that F W Murnau was prepared to go to any lengths in order to capture his masterwork, even turning a blind eye to the real-life vampire he has...

Hearts In Atlantis (2001) Review

Hearts In Atlantis (2001) Review

Hopkins brings a gentle magic to King's coming of age fable. There’s a quietness to Hearts In Atlantis that sneaks up on you, a kind of bittersweet melancholy that lingers long after the story’s mysteries have been wrapped up, if not resolved. Adapted from King’s 1999 collection of...

Criminal (2016) Review

Criminal (2016) Review

How would I describe Criminal? Cruel and unusually punishing. Between this and last year’s “Self/Less”, you have to hope Ryan Reynolds has learned to never a borrower or a lender be, at least when it comes to his brain. When a CIA operative is killed in London, the agency brings in an...

Dracula Untold (2014) Review

Dracula Untold (2014) Review

Dracula Untold is surprisingly toothsome It's become a bit of a cliché for Dracula to be given a tragic back story, some personal anguish that drives him and somehow mitigates his bloodlust and monstrous acts. While “Dracula Untold” falls victim to this trope, it does it with a bit...